Chapter 4
The light coming through the windows of the loft was reddish pink, hinting of a beautiful sunrise but a rainy day. Beckett looked as the color washed over Castle's face, so calm in sleep, creating highlights in his hair. She couldn't resist brushing her fingertips where the rays touched. Castle stirred under her hand, reaching up to find her face. They explored each other, quietly at first, touching each other gently. Beckett kissed his eyelids, eager to see the deep blue beneath. His eyes opened under the gentle illumination. As the light grew in intensity, so did their explorations, with lips finding lips and bodies drawn ever more tightly against each other until there was no more separation. Excitement rose with the sun, until it reached its zenith and Beckett lay in Castle's arms.
The silence was not to last. The whir of the blender penetrated from the kitchen. Castle pulled on shorts and t-shirt to see what was going on. Alexis looked at Castle from behind a container of green glop. "I was making a smoothie," she explained. "It makes me feel closer to..."
Castle put his arms around Alexis and kissed the top of her head. "I understand," he told her.
By the time Castle and Beckett had showered and dressed, drops were already hitting the windows of the loft. As they brought their lattes to Castle's BMV, rain was falling in sheets and the streets were a mess. Harried New Yorkers took cover in doorways, looking for cabs that seemed to have magically disappeared. As unpleasant as the drive was, Castle was grateful for the car. He was less grateful when he tried to find parking near the 12th, but he and Beckett finally made it in.
McGregor was still in holding, but apparently not for long. He had called the corporate counsel for Montstrose and paperwork had been filed for his release. Beckett couldn't question him further.
Beckett picked up the phone at her desk. It was Lainie, asking Beckett and Castle to come to the morgue. Barely dry, it was back into the rain.
At the morgue, Beckett and Castle were met not just by Lainie, but by Dr. Murray, who Castle had nicknamed "Dr. Death." "I asked Dr. Murray to consult because when you told me your suspect is six two, something looked off about the angle Pi was hit. He can explain."
Dr. Murray picked up the narration. "If Pi was hit by a six foot two suspect, the blow should have come from above. It didn't, it angled upward. Your killer was shorter than your victim."
Beckett and Castle looked at each other. Beckett shook her head. "McGregor couldn't have done it."
Back at the 12th, Castle and Beckett stood staring at the murder board. McGregor's picture had been taken out of the suspect column and there was nothing to replace it. Their consternation was interrupted by a call from Justin Bright. He had the lab results and was willing to go over them with Beckett and Castle.
Once again, Beckett and Castle arrived at the USDA. Bright laid out printouts of lab analyses on a table in the conference room. He pointed to a sheet. "This is the analysis of the sample Pi took from the garden in Tribeca where he … where you found him. There are neonicotinoids and several other types of pesticides as well. These are samples from other gardens in the city. As you can see, some of them show similar levels of various pesticides. These two," Bright said, pointing to a couple of printouts, "have none within our set detection limits."
"What does that mean?" Castle asked.
"It means that we set limits at parts per billion or parts per trillion. The lab may actually see something, but if it is lower than those limits, it is reported as not detected."
"So something might actually be there and not show up on a lab report?" Castle asked.
"That's right," Bright confirmed.
Castle was perplexed. "Why/"
"Technology moves faster than rules about detection limits are approved. By the time a rule is approved, technology is out ahead of it. Bureaucracy is slower than science. It does make our job harder, because sometimes very low levels of some things can have profound effects."
Castle sighed. The day was becoming more depressing by the moment. Beckett took up the questioning. "The samples that show no pesticides, why would that be?"
"Some gardens are devoted to organic gardening. They wouldn't use pesticides, just natural method of pest control like picking off insects by hand or application of coffee grounds. Sometimes their excess produce is sold to high end restaurants. Some people can actually pick up a fair amount of money that way," Bright explained.
Before they left, Castle asked one more question, "Which garden had the fewest bees?"
"The one where Pi was found," Bright answered.
Castle nodded. "I thought so."
Castle closed his door on the passenger side of Beckett's vehicle with a slam. "What's the matter, Castle?" Beckett asked.
"We have nothing! We have lab results that may not show what's there and probably don't mean anything even if they did. We already knew there were pesticides in that garden from Lainie. We have no suspect. We're at square one!" Castle pounded a fist against the door of the car in frustration."
"Castle," Beckett soothed. "We just need to come at this from a different angle."
"What angle?"
"The angle Pi was hit. We need to find short people who were around that garden."
As Beckett drove, Castle went to work on his I-phone. He found that registration was necessary to use the garden in Tribeca. There was no list of gardeners online, but there was contact information for the administrator. As soon as they arrived at the 12th Beckett called the administrator and arranged for the list of names to be e-mailed to her. Ryan ran them through the DMV to sort for height. There were four suspects: Jose Guttierez, Julie Jurgen, Mickey Perry, and Jennifer Berkley, who Ryan had already interviewed.
Castle and Beckett went to see Jose Guttierez. Guttierez was at his workplace as a dishwasher and general helper. "Yeah, I use the garden. Working here, I'm not going to make enough money to get any fresh produce any other way. What about it?"
Beckett showed Guttierez a picture of Pi. "You ever meet him?"
Guttierez looked at the picture for a moment. "I did. That's Pi. He's been around the garden, even gave me some tips about getting my plants to grow better. Nice guy."
"He was." Beckett told him. "He's dead."
Guttierez looked genuinely shocked. "What happened?" he asked.
"Someone hit him with a shovel, someone about your height. Where were you from five to seven A.M. Monday morning?"
"Right here, doing prep, same as every morning."
"Anyone see you?"
"Everyone who works in the kitchen. Look Detective, I'm really sorry Pi is dead, but I had nothing to do with it."
After talking to several other members of the kitchen staff, Beckett confirmed Guttierez's alibi.
Beckett rotated her shoulders and stretched her neck on the way back to the car. Castle reached down to give her a quick massage. "Look Beckett, you're tired and we should go back to the loft and update Alexis. She might even have something useful. I can pick up my car tomorrow."
Beckett shrugged off Castle' s hands. "All right, Castle, let's go."
Castle and Beckett picked up Thai food on the way to the loft and fed themselves, Martha, and Alexis as well as possible.
Alexis was anxious for any details about the case, paying close attention as Castle told her about the lab results, expressing his disappointment.
"Dad," she told him. "Pi knew about the problems with detection limits and he wanted to look at some things the USDA didn't. He had a friend with a lab that he sent things to. The results were sent to his phone. Where is it?"
